Good oral hygiene and high-quality dental care are important for long-term health and have benefits that extend far beyond the teeth and gums. Likewise, poor oral health can lead to adverse outcomes and increase the risk of disease. In fact, many health issues and chronic systemic diseases are directly correlated to certain dental treatments and infections.

How serious is this problem? Leo Cashman, executive director of Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions (DAMS) and a featured expert at the Holistic Oral Health Summit says:

"The root canal-treated tooth is a real serious problem for people that have them because it's a dead tooth that is prone to infection. And, it could end up quite toxic without the ability to fight off the infection of a dead tooth."

Your local dentist is probably not able to speak the truth about your health. Here's a shocking truth (ignored by most dentists): Infections, root canals and cavitations are among the most common causes of disease - especially when these factors are combined with other health or lifestyle issues.

Together, they have a synergistic effect on the body and can wreak havoc on the cardiovascular, immune and neurological systems. Diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, autoimmune disease and neurological damage are just some of the conditions that have been associated with dental infections and their conventional treatment protocols.

Are root canals really that dangerous? (Yes!)

Many prestigious health researchers have theorized that a majority of systemic diseases are directly associated with tooth, tonsil and soft tissue infections in the mouth. The dangers are considerable and rise significantly among those with chronic infections. In fact, even the frequent development of very minor infections can lead to subtle but progressive (negative) changes within the cardiovascular system, and these oral infections are the root cause of most heart attacks!

Keep this in mind: Root canal "therapy" tends to push around dangerous anaerobic bacteria - which get released into the bloodstream during treatment. A tooth that has undergone a root canal is likely to accumulate bacteria over time, creating an ongoing infection that may lead to serious health issues.

In fact, research has shown that all root canals have the potential to contribute to the risk of systemic infections. This can lead to inflammation, which can damage the body's immune response and contribute to the development of serious conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease.

How dangerous are cavitations, gum disease and mercury-based "silver" fillings? The gums can harbor dangerous bacteria due to poor dental hygiene or previous dental treatment.

Cavitations, for instance, are chronically infected sites within the mouth - usually where an extraction has occurred. They are particularly common at the site of wisdom teeth extractions, occurring in up to 80 percent of all wisdom tooth extraction sites. Also common is the development of gum disease, in which the bacteria accumulates below the gum line, causing the gums to recede and pull away from the teeth.

Both types of infection have been linked to serious health issues, including heart problems, stroke and arthritis.

Another serious oral health risk is not an infection, but rather stems from the treatment of an infection. Mercury-based "silver" fillings, also known as amalgam fillings, are continuously touted as "safe" despite causing the accumulation of mercury throughout the body.

This leads to long-term toxicity that can persist long after a mercury filling has been removed and replaced with a non-toxic alternative. Mercury fillings have been linked to a host of health problems, most prominent of which include neurological and autoimmune issues like multiple sclerosis, tremors, anxiety, depression and much more!

Don't rush to treat yourself: Get educated about the dangers of dental infections.

Despite evidence that supports serious health consequences associated with dental infections and treatments, the Food and Drug Administration continues to approve and endorse dangerous oral health protocols. It is important to arm yourself with knowledge about the importance of prevention and choosing safer dental treatments, because government health agencies are clearly asleep at the wheel.